First Test Run

Marlon and I took turns trying out the foil this past Saturday afternoon.  There is definitely a learning curve associated with this...

First - I need longer screws to properly shim the foil to correct for the tail rocker on the board.  It was not impossible to catch waves and get the foil to lift, but if shimmed better, I think it'll be much easier.

Here's a picture of  Marlon catching a wave and just before the foil lifted him up.  I caught four waves and my longest ride was about 4 seconds.  There is no forgiveness if you do not stay centered on the board or if you lighten up pressure on your front foot.  Either of these happen and the board bucks you straight off.

I may go ahead and crank out a dedicated foil board as I can carve out the time - I think with more paddling power and a much straighter rocker (like minimal nose rocker and nothing else), learning will be easier.  All said and done, not a bad first outting.

Foilboard Getting Closer

Got of lot of things done this weekend.  Helped out some plant people, got the yard work done, rearranged the garage to make better use of the space, and got some work done on the foil board conversion and foil.

The donor board is a light wind kiteboard I made a while back.  I've used it a few times over the years, but as I have been getting the hydrofoil built, I figured doing the conversion would be the quickest way to getting everything wet.  I still have to do a light sand to knock down any high points, tape up all three boxes (middle one is for a tall fin in kiting mode - but it'll need to be taped up again), apply a cap sheet of carbon and fiberglass, and then clean up around the box slots.  All said and done - I should be able to get the foil and the board in the water this coming weekend.  I still think I am too heavy for this foil - I'll start work on another with larger wings soon after this one is done.  not to mention I have two blanks waiting to be carved and a bunch of foam billets also waiting to be transformed into science experiments (literally - upcoming Lacy Veach Day of Discovery).

I opted to not use divynicell blocks in this board as the flanges are pretty wide and should be able to distribute the forces better than a straight chinook box would.  But just to be sure, I did put a slice of carbon fiber beneath the box.  For future reference, I used 1.75 ounces of epoxy for each of these longboard boxes.

Also - you can see the stack of reinforcement blocks I trimmed up.  I've got enough reinforcement blocks to make a total of five boards capable of supporting a foil or some mix with mast tracks and foils (I am starting to think about shaping a windsurf foil board that would double as a SUP foil board).

Lastly - since I didn't take any pictures this weekend of the surf, I'll just mention the sessions here.  Dawn Patrol on Saturday morning.  Fun waves but for some reason they were hard to catch.  Got some decent rides regardless.  Sunday evening glass off session.  I changed out the Greenough 4C 9.5" fin for a 9" Josh Faberow Flex - I love the new combo!  I can feel the fin flex when I turn and it has the right amount of hold.  The GL Flex 8.5" had the flex I wanted, but the size was a hair on the small side, especially when I needed to do a hard bottom turn - this Josh Faberow is perfect for my weight and surfing.

Mock Up

For expediency, I'm planning on taking this light wind kiteboard I made a while back and installing some mast track boxes to mount the foil. 

Here's the first time I've had these two together.

This board is just over 6' long.  The thickness towards the tail should be enough to drop two reinforcement blocks in.  I'll have to modify the blocks to fit around the finbox already in place, but that shouldn't be too hard.

FINALLY!!!!

The wind and my timing converged today -

Usually I see the wind from my office window, and I have to keep on working. Or - I'm not working and the wind is not up. This problem was compounded by the fact I had a 2011 Cabrihna 16m^2 Crossbow, a 2011 CrazyFly Raptor and a recently finished lightwind kiteboard all sitting in the garage staring at me and planting images of perfect conditions and me ripping the heck out of the water with these tools...

Ahhh to go to me happy place...

No need to daydream today - right at 1300 the wind jumped from 8 mph to 11 mph and with that, La launched me and with barely a whitecap in the water (see the picture with the board I made in use - smooth water) I was cruising! The big Crossbow was incredible!!!!

I rotated out the boards and the CrazyFly Raptor was also a winner! The combination of the Raptor, the Crossbow and the wind (by that time 13-16 mph) made for some wicked high jumps - nothing crazy - 12' vertical with 20' across ground.

We stayed most of the day at the beach - I haven't been this sunburnt or this sore for months!!!!

And I can't wipe the smile off my face - it's good to be stoked again!

Finbox Set

No sense waiting until tomorrow for what you can do today -

I mixed a small batch of epoxy (~2 ounces mixed product) and got the finbox set in place.

As always, with the taped up surround, it made clean up much easier.

Now I get to do more "productive" work tomorrow - grinding, sanding and maybe painting...

It'll be nice to finally get this thing in the water, but I firmly believe "patience" is a virtue. Now I just have to figure out what color to paint it.

Routed Out the Box Fin Box

North winds today...

No kiting for me.

I did use some of today to clean up the lightwind kiteboard. Finboxes, leash plug, footstrap inserts and excess hotcoat all were taken down.

I also routed out the slot for the finbox. I'll mix up a small batch of epoxy tonight to set the box in place.

If the weather sucks tomorrow (good wind, but rainy), I may actually paint the board and make the final preps for taking the board on the water (we'll see).

Lap Sanding and Hot Coating the LWKB

It hit the mid 70s today. That was all the motivation I needed to fair out the laps and put on a hot coat.

The pictures are of me in my sanding gear. Looks pretty intimidating to the innocent bystander (like my neighbors in the hood who were out for a walk) but I know I don't like the "pricklies" after unprotected sanding... Better safe than sorry.

HOOYAH!!!

Laminating the Light Wind Kiteboard

The wind was forecasted to be 10-15 from the S today. We barely got 9...

So - I decided to finally laminate the light air kiteboard I made a while back. Every time I get skunked on kiting plans, I kick myself for not having done this earlier.

I had already measured out the finbox locations earlier this week - 29.5" up from the tail for the front fins, with a 1/8" toe-in; 12.5" up from the tail for the back finboxes - no toe.

Today was route out the box holes, laminate the bottom, laminate the top. The top has some strips of carbon in a warp pattern (interwoven with fiberglass fill) so I won't get heel dents. I will eventually have a 3 or 4 strap setup, but before I finalize the insert locations, I will use the board strapless to get an idea of where to put them.

I'll have to play with the fins - for now, I think the big G-10s will ride in the back for lift and less twist (which I anticipate will happen if I put them up front). I will be installing a standard finbox as well so I can run the big G-10s with a 8" Seeker type fin - more lift, and any twisting will be countered by the larger rear center fin - may be able to eek out more light wind performance with that set up.

There is a front passing through tomorrow around mid-morning. The temperature is supposed to drop big time after that. Good thing I got the laminating done today. Depending on the morning temperatures, I may grind the laps and do the bottom hotcoat, but I want to have the boat out before the wind picks up (IF I DON"T GET SKUNKED AGAIN>>>>>>).

Stay tuned...

Twins Separated at Birth???

I'm not one to spread rumors, but.....

No - Harold Iggy didn't copy my board!!! Why would you even think that??? That's crazy talk!!!!

Seriously, it is awesome to see a shape that you conceptualized (yes I did that independently) evolve simultaneously. The term functional morphology describes how a function can evolve differently in different groups - the classic case is flight in birds and bats (and pterosaurs).

If I can get my board glassed before the 'Venturi" goes into production, these race/light wind kiteboards will be classified (at least by me) as functional morphs.

Well - in reality all the race boards are converging into a similar shapes - really a no brainer (if you daydream about surfing or the hydrodynamics of board performance).

Intermediate Shaping Done on 2010 Board #1

I still have to thin out the tail a little bit - not much, that is where the highest loads will be experienced. The final completed version will be decked with bamboo veneer, given 4 Futures boxes and have two foot straps in the front (one on each side obviously) and options for 2 or 1 on the back (max-flex) - may still settle for just one.

Time to switch over to shaping the mini-SUBs.

Roughed in

Today I built the shaping racks I need to get the rails dialed in.

Pictures to follow.

Errands and cooking followed, but I did spend time afterwards in the garage to foil out the board more.  This one should be done in a day or so, then I'll knock out the kids' mini-SUBs.